Globetrotter Ingrid gets a fabulous fresh start when her job takes her to Melbourne, Australia. Here she meets wise and sweet Oliver, who makes her forget she doesn't have a heart.
This successful stability prompts Ingrid to accept an invitation to...
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March 2019
It was only the fifth floor, but the wind still whipped on the terrace, making it damn near impossible for an irritated Ingrid to light her cigarette.
"Let me."
Ingrid gritted her teeth at the voice. The other smokers on the terrace glanced her way as Hitoshi approached. She let him cup one hand inches away from her mouth, to shield the sparks of his lighter. He managed his own cigarette by himself after.
"I'm guessing you've heard the news," Hitoshi said after he drew his first tobacco breath.
The smoke Ingrid blew out flew with the wind. "I have, and I would chuck you over the railing if we didn't have witnesses."
He had the audacity to laugh. "I believe you."
"So, this was your endgame. This is what you'd been playing at, since... Fuck, since Singapore."
Hitoshi pondered, sucking on his cigarette and exhaling smoke. "No, not quite. I got the idea a little while later. At Roy's club, actually."
She raised an eyebrow.
"Yeah, I was talking to all these alpha males congregating there and, you know, the consensus was that they'd bang you on the spot, just not much else."
Ingrid licked her dry lips.
"Which, I mean..." He shrugged a shoulder. "Is only fair. But it was the one and only reason why most of them bought your booze. Which, to begin with, seems like enough, doesn't it?"
Hitoshi drew a long breath from his cigarette and flicked off ashes.
"But it's not enough, Ingrid. Honestly, I have no clue how you lasted a whole year. You came out here with zero strategy, zero knowledge of the market... Winging it was only going to take you so far. You should be grateful. I'm doing you all a favour."
Ingrid didn't answer. She finished her cigarette in silence and crushed the stub against the side of a tin bin.
Hitoshi checked his watch. "Well, it was nice chatting with you, Ingrid, but I've got a lunch appointment. Guess I'll see you around."
"I wouldn't count on it."
He winked and waved her goodbye. Less than ten minutes later, a frazzled Pri joined her on the terrace, frowning, and accepted a cigarette from Ingrid. She lit herself a second one.
"Well," Pri began, breathing out a cloud of smoke, "that came out of fucking nowhere."
Ingrid snorted. "Tell me about it."
"Wait – did you know about this?"
"No." Ash and embers scattered skywards on the gale, defying gravity.
"So, Hitoshi literally screwed you over, huh?"
"You have no idea."
Pri mustered a compassionate smile. "What are you gonna do? Stick with Brennan Oz, or nah?"
